Sinn Féin is to approach the Assembly demanding the Warm Home Discount Scheme should be applied to Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin MLA Oliver McMullan said pensioners in England, Scotland and Wales can apply for a discount from their energy suppliers however the scheme has not been extended to the North.

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Mr McMullan said: "The discount, which is paid in the form of a rebate has operated in Britain since April 2011 yet pensioners here have missed out with many being forced to sit out the winter months in freezing conditions.

"Coldness is a contributing factor to the death of 500 pensioners each year and pensioners have consistently highlighted fuel poverty as their biggest worry in recent surveys."

(CD/MH)